Monthly Archives: September 2017

The beginning of this academic year has seen a shift in the leadership of the Sackler school with the retirement of both the Dean & the Associate Dean. Dr. Naomi Rosenberg’s decision to retire from her role as the Dean of Sackler after 13 years of dedicated service was received with a mixture of surprise and trepidation, which was compounded by Associate Dean Kathryn Lange’s retirement decision around the same time. The dynamic duo left large shoes to fill and the search committee spent the summer choosing candidates who would have the school and its constituents’ best interests in mind. To that end, Daniel Jay, Ph.D., a faculty member of the Developmental, Chemical & Molecular Biology department, and Daniel Volchok, Ed.D., previously the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Life at Northeastern University, were chosen to fill the positions of the Dean and Associate Dean, respectively. Both of these individuals bring their extensive experiences to the table. Dean Jay has mentored numerous graduate students and has served as the post-doc officer for the school prior to his appointment as the Dean, and Assoc. Dean Volchok has worked with both undergraduates and graduate students across multiple disciplines that range from medical schools to business schools.

For Dean Jay, a fortuitously timed conference on graduate education solidified his commitment to throw his hat in the ring, while Assoc. Dean Volchok found that beginning his position simultaneously with a new Dean was a wonderful opportunity to build a fresh vision for Sackler from the ground up. Aside from similar serendipitous timing, Jay and Volchok also developed convergent objectives for how to keep Sackler and its associated graduate programs a competitive academic institution. Of particular interest regarding these new goals is that they grew directly out of interactions with students.

“In my interview, with the students I met with, they all talked about career,” Volchok recalled. “It was very important to the students. It turned out they were right…career focus is part of the life here.”

Jay states that their new mission for Sackler is one of “training to career excellence”, which encourages high distinction not only at the bench for students, but also in less traditionally academic contexts, such as in the boardroom or at the news desk. “The reason for that,” Jay explained, “is that 80% of our trainees go on to careers beyond academia…and we need to train all of those individuals in addition to the small number that do go on in academia to compete, to excel, and to lead in areas of whatever their chosen career passion.”

Both Jay and Volchok believe that trainees are the key to Sackler’s success. To highlight the importance of student leadership, Jay mentions that “extracurricular programs, that didn’t exist 10 years ago, were developed by student leadership such as the GSC [Graduate Student Council], TBBC [Tufts Biomedical Business Club] and the PDA [Postdoctoral Association].” They both want to see this trend to continue as they would like students to take ownership of their career choices and approach the Dean’s office with their needs and wants to ensure their success. Jay believes that “we will be stronger and better if we are willing to change with the times to provide what students require for success.” He is also less concerned that faculty may not be on board with non-traditional career choices. He believes that most faculty are not opposed to career choices outside of academia, and he stresses that research excellence is still the first priority for any trainee at the Sackler school and will not be compromised

In his twenty years at Tufts, Jay has watched, as well as aided, the trainee community forge extracurricular programs and initiatives to fulfill these alternative training needs, despite, and more aptly because of, the shortage of accessible resources. To build upon this foundation, this fall semester the Dean’s office launched two new trial initiatives: a drug development short course, taught by alumnus Stefan Gross, and career counseling services provided by Sarah Duncan. In addition, Volchok is currently working on developing a business skills course based on his experience in Northeastern’s business school; such action speaks to the fresh perspectives he brings to Sackler through his extensive and varied educational and administrative experience. While this type of career training will remain supplemental in the short-term, they plan to eventually incorporate such training directly into the infrastructure of Sackler. This integration will run the gamut from admissions to available curriculum, such as proposed course offerings focused on business or transferable skills (eg – team building, project management, etc.), school-facilitated industry internships that are integrated into a student’s research plan, and possibly a two-year biomedical Masters program that would incorporate training in both research and non-traditional science career development.

The majority of these programs will be accessible not just for graduate students but also for Tufts postdocs as well. Jay’s role as the post-doc officer for the school has made him very much aware of the bottleneck effect of the current academic job crisis that these postdocs face. Therefore, he has stressed that programs be made open to the whole Sackler community whenever possible. He also proudly mentions the success of the PDA, which organized around 70 events last year, and affirms his faith in trainee leaders to build career-related programs. Unfortunately, industry internships will not be open to postdocs, but Jay hopes to work with industry contacts to improve that situation.

The success of these programs and the new vision, according to Jay, will be evaluated by whether “graduates have an easier time finding their first job.” He mentions that he developed this milestone after his conversations with alumni who wished they had learned particular skills before entering the job market. In these conversations, he also discussed building more formal engagement between the alumni and the school, such as the possibility of alumni acting as adjunct professors to teach aforementioned short courses and the development of a biomedical research interest group. He affirms that he has had a positive reaction from the alumni who have also expressed interest in hosting/organizing events. He also mentions that alumni would definitely be a part of the new branding strategy now that the Dean’s office has developed its new mission. As a key component to executing these varied goals, Jay and Volchok have also established and seeded a new Sackler career development fund, dedicated to financing the programming to come out of this new mission.

Jay and Volchok aim to use their first year to launch programs that would serve as “trial balloons.” The school is “small, so [it is] easy to make changes”, according to latter, and therefore, they would like to test out which programs can be expanded upon in the long term. “This year will test the viability and utility of these short courses that can be used to build upon for longer term goals, and student engagement and participation will be crucial to seeing these initiatives succeed,” Jay elaborated. This last point seems to be critical to the new administration, as “feet on the ground”, as Jay put it, will be the litmus test for whether these initiatives continue. Both seemed confident that the students will indeed engage, given how proactive the trainee community has been about this topic in the past, and are ready and willing to listen to individual feedback.

“We’re of the size that we can make sure students are successful,” Volchok observed. “We can work with individual students when we need to. Students can feel like part of the community and not just a number.”

While a small student body has organizational advantages and new approaches can be tested easily without much bureaucratic repercussions, there are also disadvantages. The current funding climate, along with the fact that Sackler is surrounded by heavyweight schools with similar programs, has led to a dwindling number of students recruited to our programs every year. In the light of such events, concerns regarding the continuity of Sackler as a successful graduate school are bound to rise. However, both Jay and Volchok believe that their new mission of a strong emphasis on career development will help Sackler stand out amongst the other schools in the area.

“I view this as our route to success…how do we define ourselves in a very competitive environment,” Jay said. “If we dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to this mission, we would, in some ways, distinguish ourselves so that we are competitive, so that a student may choose us because they seek this path toward career excellence. We have to find a way to be relevant…I think the combination of being in Boston, of being small and mobile–if we can do it, we set the standard for the rest of the country. So that is exciting to me, and that’s making a difference, and this is why I’ve taken this job.”

Besides the strong emphasis on career development, the Dean’s office’s new mission also prioritizes community building both in and outside of Tufts. Jay mentions a great advantage that Sackler has by being surrounded by Medical, Dental and Nutrition schools, and being in the same university as a Veterinary school–all opening doors to an influx of opportunities for trainees and faculty to design their studies that could result in more collaboration within the school. As an example, he cites the Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and their intentions of working more with the Sackler Basic Science programs (CTSI currently offers drop-in hours for statistics consultation and also offers a course on biostats, both of which are open to Sackler trainees). Jay is also looking forward to hearing individual programs’ changes to curriculum based on discussions between students and faculty mentors (CMDB is offering a bioinformatics class to its students after it was brought up in the program retreat). Additionally, Jay hopes to reach out to industry as well for more collaboration on various fronts.

Jay and Volchok are also tuned in to the social needs of the community to protect its members while reaching outside of their bubble. They are both advocates of the new student club Scientists Promoting Inclusive Excellence @ Sackler (SPINES), and stressed “increased awareness of diversity and inclusion” and building a tolerant community. In an effort to increase student engagement, Volchok has revised The Goods–a weekly digest of news, opportunities and events both on and off campus–delivered to the school community. He believes that “students have a good voice here” and are great resources on how the school and its environment can be improved. Both Jay and Volchok mentioned the need for more community outreach into middle schools, both in the Chinatown communities and the African-American communities in Roxbury. They would like the students to help with organizing and mentoring in these communities.

Of course, most of these ideas are still in the very early stages. “We’re at the very beginning of all this,” Jay said with a laugh. Even so, they seem to be off to a good start, as Jay and Volchok spent their first few weeks listening to the needs of the community before shaping their mission. Jay admits “…the level of concern and frustration of career path thing is here,” an issue frequently brought up by students in the past. Jay and Volchok are committed to listening to the needs of the trainees and helping them as much they can, but they also want the students to take ownership of their own career paths by being proactive. When asked what the students can do to help the Dean’s office, Volchok expresses his eagerness to work with students to improve their experience at Sackler. “Be open and honest with us. Come and tell us when things are going well. Come and tell us when things are not going well. If you have ideas and things we can do differently, let us know.”

In the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, I feel compelled to understand what cleantech strategies are currently available to tackle climate change. California’s cleantech industry was an obvious thought that came to mind. Over the past decade, California’s institutions and companies have been leaders in the U.S. market for producing clean energy and biodegradable materials. This past summer, the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in the Bay Area received federal funding for innovation in biofuels and bioproducts. Since its inception, JBEI has yielded several startups that are committed to engineering microbes and crops to convert sugars into high-value renewable fuels. But where does Massachusetts stand in the cleantech industry? Fortunately, we’re not too far behind.

The nation’s largest cleantech startup incubator actually exists right here in Massachusetts. The Somerville incubator Greentown Labs hosts more than 100 startup companies and has raised over $200 million in investor funding since its founding. There is an emphasis on solar, wind, and wastewater technology in this incubator that is very unique. For example, the startup WrightGrid has developed a single solar-panel-based charger for robust cell phone charging in rural areas. Furthermore, SolChroma has developed full-color reflective digital billboards that reduce light pollution and energy costs in big cities. The company Sistine Solar can come to your home and design personalized solar panels in all aesthetic shapes and colors, enticing homeowners to switch to solar energy. One company that piqued my interest was Spyce, a startup intersecting food and technology. The company has developed a robotic kitchen that can serve meals with fresh ingredients in less than five minutes. The robotic kitchen is compact and reduces the amount of space and manpower that is typically needed at restaurants to prepare meals.

For the global market, Greentown Labs hosts Promethean Power Systems, a company that manufacturers rural refrigeration systems in off-grid and partially electrified areas of developing countries. In the same vein, Ivys Energy Solutions provides renewable hydrogen fuel cells to the international market. For the agrigulture sector, Raptor Maps fuses drone-based imaging technology to detect pest and weed infestation so to reduce water usage and nutrient management. Multisensor Scientific has also developed imaging capabilities to visualize and quantify in real-time methane leaks from natural gas infrastructures, thus reducing harmful methane emissions that are driving climate change. In the materials sector, Alkemy Environmental recycles industrial waste into lightweight concrete. For water management, Aquafresco is reinventing how we do laundry through a wastewater recycling invention that reduces the amount of water we use by 95%

Just a week ago, Tufts University collaborated with Greentown Labs to support cleantech solutions. The agreement between the parties will allow them to share their expertise, resources, and networks. The collaboration is also exciting because it allows for startups run by Tufts affiliates to directly become members of Greentown Labs. Currently Greentown Labs is tight on space but they are opening up a new building in Somerville next month to host more startups. The expansion of Greentown Labs is very promising for the future of cleantech in the Boston area. Just like Kendall is synonymous with biotech, in the next few years Somerville will be synonymous with yuppies, hipsters, and, perhaps, cleantech.

BrowZine provides direct access to the library’s electronic journals, allowing you to browse full contents of current and older issues, create a personal bookshelf, and save and download articles for offline reading.

In June, Tufts Libraries launched a new iteration of our search platform, JumboSearch. This means that the way you search for resources (books, journals, databases, articles, etc.) available through our libraries has changed. This new search platform is part of our transition to a new integrated library system, which will improve how we manage our resources.

Here is a brief primer on how to use JumboSearch to find the resources you need.

Enter a title, author or keyword in the search box at the center of the Hirsh Health Sciences Library homepage. Use the filters on the left side of the results page to limit your search to books. Once you find the book that you need, click the title to view additional information, such as location and availability, and, if it is available electronically, access the full text.

What if the book I want is located at another Tufts library?

If the book is located at another Tufts library, then click the title of the book on the JumboSearch results page. Select the ‘Log in’ link in the yellow bar at the center of the page. Once you have signed in with your Tufts username and password, click the ‘Request item’ link to request delivery of the book to the Hirsh Health Sciences Library. You will receive email notification when the book is ready for you to pick up at our Library Service Desk.

How do I find a journal?

Enter the title of a journal in the JumboSearch box at the center of the Hirsh Health Sciences Library homepage. If the journal is available through our libraries, then the title should appear at the top of the results. Click the title of the journal to view print and electronic availability.

Another (and I find more efficient) method of finding a journal is to click the ‘Journals’ tab at the top of any JumboSearch page, which brings you to a page where you can search or browse our Journal list (versus all of our resources).

Can I use JumboSearch to find the full text of an article?

Yes! If you have the title of a journal article and want to know whether or not the full text is available through Tufts, then copy and paste the title into JumboSearch. If necessary, use the filters on the left side of the results page to narrow your results. Once you find your article, click the ‘Full text available’ link.

How do I access my library account?

Use the ‘Log in’ link in the upper right-hand corner of any JumboSearch page, or in the yellow bar at the center of an item details page. In your library account, you can see the items that you currently have checked out (including interlibrary loan books), requests, fines and blocks, as well as renew Tufts Libraries’ books.

The annual Gerhard Schmidt Memorial Lecture, on its 15th year after it was established in 2002, will be held on September 27, Wednesday, 4 pm at Behrakis auditorium,Jaharis building. The lectureship was established originally by the Department of Biochemistry, now a part of the Developmental, Chemical & Molecular Biology Department at the Tufts University School of Medicine, in memory of Gerhard Schmidt, M.D., to commemorate his life and contributions to the fields of nucleic acid and phospholipid research.

Dr. Gerhard Schmidt (source – medicine.tufts.edu)

Dr. Schmidt joined the Tufts faculty in 1940 after migrating to the U.S. from Europe due to the increasingly tense political climate in the 30s. While he was working at the University of Frankfurt, Dr. Schmidt published a seminal paper describing enzymatic processes of deamination. In 1933, when Dr. Schmidt became aware of the Nazis’ intentions of purging “Jewish science” in his department, he fled to Italy. After a series of short-term fellowships took him to Naples, Stockholm and Florence, as well as Kingston, Ontario, New York and St. Louis before coming to Boston (source). Soon after his arrival, Dr. Schmidt published a milestone paper where he described a novel technique to determine the DNA and RNA quantities in tissues. In 1973, Dr. Schmidt was awarded an emeritus position at Tufts and the same year, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Until he passed away on April 24, 1981, Dr. Schmidt had continued to regularly work in his laboratory despite his poor health in his latter years. Besides being a dedicated and hard-working scientist, Dr. Schmidt was an avid supporter of the arts, particularly chamber music and literature; he was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Judith Campisi, PhD (Source- gero.usc.edu)

This year, Judith Campisi, PhD, will deliver the Schmidt memorial lecture titled “Cancer and Aging: Rival Demons?”. Dr. Campisi is a world leader in the field of aging research, and currently is a professor of biogerontology at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Dr. Campisi received her B.A. in Chemistry in 1974 and Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1979 from SUNY Stony Brook. She did her post-doctoral training at Dana Farber Cancer Insitute, before moving on to join the Biochemistry Department at Boston University School of Medicine in 1984. From there, Dr. Campisi moved on to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) where she headed the Carcinogenesis & Differentiation group, and the Department of Cell & Molecular Biology before taking on the position of co-head of Center for Research and Education on Aging in 1999.

She is also a member of the SENS Research Foundation Advisory Board (a non-profit that seeks to develop rejuvenation biotechnology) and an adviser at the Lifeboat Foundation (non-profit NGO that wants to harness technological advancements to “save humanity from existential risks”). She is also the co-editor in chief of the scientific journal Aging, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and recipient of the Longevity Prize from the Ipsen Foundation and the Olav Thon Foundation prize (source), besides multiple other awards and fellowships.

Dr. Campisi is mostly known for her work on the role of aging on a variety of disease conditions, including cancer. She has worked extensively on senescent cells and how they may also disrupt normal physiological functions in tissues thus contributing to cancer progression. She has also described the hallmarks of senescence, including the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. She has described her research interests as following – “Aging is controlled by genes and the environment, and poses the largest single risk for developing a panoply of diseases, both degenerative (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease) and hyperproliferative (e.g., cancer). Why do organisms age, and why do these diseases rise exponentially with age? My laboratory aims to understand the molecular and cellular basis of aging in mammals.” (source)

For more information on her research, check out the following resources –

There was an excited tension in the humid halls of Boston University the morning of August 19th, where women from eight institutions across New England were finally coming together under one roof. For months leading up to this day, representatives from each school spent many a late-night brainstorming, planning, and organizing, not just the Inaugural Retreat they were attending today, but the genesis of a new organization whose mission would be to unite, diversify, and advocate for women in science and engineering throughout New England. They had just founded NEGWiSE: New England Graduate Women in Science and Engineering.

The retreat kicked off with the keynote speaker: local entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Seeding labs, Dr. Nina Dudnik. Her nonprofit company brings scientific equipment and training to underserved areas worldwide, and the theme of her talk was collective action. As she spoke, she acknowledged that tens of thousands of protesters were currently marching on the Boston Common to protest racism and hate speech, and many in the audience had cut their marches short to hear her speak. Protest signs littered the aisles as Nina pointed out that by taking the time to support fellow women here and now, when there were other pressing and important issues, strongly demonstrated the passion and dedication of everyone in the room. Continuing to echo the national conversation, Nina emphasized that the time for talking is over, and she urged, to many a nodding head, now we must act.

Nina talked about her time as a graduate student at Harvard Medical School, where she overcame extreme gender imbalances to find mentors and advocates, and ultimately changed the demographics of her department to hire more women. She spoke of how we as women in science must work harder, be more productive, and walk a fine line to be just the right amount of outspoken but likable – feminine but firm. She said that often we, as women, do this with an apologetic meekness that we must shirk to accept full ownership of our accomplishments. Her advice: practice saying the words “My name is…and I am an expert in…” because this is something we consistently feel shy about, regardless of our achievements or awards. But we can help each other do this too. Nina encouraged us to amplify each other’s voices; whether in meetings, in lab, or online, me must give and receive credit. We must also repeat, reinforce, and validate other women’s viewpoints so their voice, and our collective voices, can be heard. We can build an ‘old girl’s network’ of our own. This is a kind of power we can harness to act on, to affect change, and keep improving.

Nina reminded us that we as women are already working overtime; here we are choosing to spend our Saturday, not on the couch watching TV, but actively working to both question and improve the status quo, all the while standing in solidarity with other women. But as a new group, Nina stressed, it is important we distinguish ourselves, to find a niche among the multitude of women’s groups in the Boston area. As her keynote wrapped up, the room was uplifted with a common hope and strength. Nina put words to the thoughts we all had- that together we have the resources not just to talk but to act, and facilitate important and sustainable change.

Building off the groundwork laid by Nina, the next part of the retreat featured short presentations from each school about their GWiSE groups, where representatives from Tufts, Boston University, MIT, Northeastern, Harvard, Brown, Boston College, and Dartmouth all talked briefly about their strengths and resources, and how they could benefit from a consortium like NEGWiSE. While Tufts does not have a dedicated GWiSE group (yet!), the Tufts Mentoring Circles stood in to represent Tufts, and will also be supporting the development of a Tufts GWiSE group that’s currently in the making.

The bulk of the afternoon was dedicated to several “Breakout Sessions.” These focused discussions were brainstorming sessions on topics such as the organizational structure of NEGWiSE, the role of men, increasing diversity, outreach, and advocacy. Tufts’ own Dr. Ayanna Thomas, professor of Psychology, led the diversity discussion to brainstorm how NEGWiSE could facilitate enhancing diversity, both regarding incoming graduate student demographics and within high level graduate education positions. Likewise, discussion was held about how other GWiSE groups at other universities can help Universities such as Tufts to create their own internal GWiSE group.

However, one Breakout session that received a lot of traction was Advocacy. Attendees, added to the momentum started by Nina’s keynote speech through eager discussion of action items affecting graduate students and consideration on how NEGWiSE could implement change. Several issues rose to the top as important within the STEM graduate community, including parental leave policies, mental health, domestic violence, and student/advisor dynamics. In fact, NEGWiSE decided to take on resource gathering about parental leave policies for comparison across universities, with the goal of proposing a standard policy for graduate student parental leave that can be proposed directly to each administration. This timely issue is the first action item that NEGWiSE will be tackling, but it will not be the last. Through the breakout sessions, the mission of NEGWiSE was refined to include graduate student advocacy as a central tenant, especially for issues relating to women in STEM. It was strongly felt that NEGWiSE will distinguish itself among Boston area groups in this way, while also best serving the needs of multiple universities across New England.

But the retreat was not simply all work and no play; after the brainstorming was over, the fun began! Moving from the classrooms of BU to the BU Beach, attendees met and networked with each other over delicious BBQ. A scavenger hunt encouraged people to talk to each other. Attendees needed to find a person who fit each condition from a list. For instance, items included who had run a marathon or who likes Dunkin Donuts better than Starbucks. The first few people to find answers to all those questions won some NEGWiSE swag. A fun photo booth with props got everyone laughing, while a DJ spun tunes, and a Facebook friending frenzy ensued.

The Inaugural retreat introduced the framework and mission of NEGWiSE, a new group to connect, support, and advocate for graduate women in science and engineering. Soon the NEGWISE will hold their own elections for this year’s committee which will follow with many more activities which will be announced at Tufts. Likewise, the Medford and the downtown campus are negotiating our own GWiSE group. If you want to get involved with the Tufts GWiSE group that is forming and will partner and collaborate with NEGWiSE, please contact tuftsgwise@gmail.com. Also, you can follow NEGWiSE on twitter @NE_GWISE or on Facebook at New England GWiSE

Every month, librarian Laura Pavlech from the Hirsch Health Sciences Library helpfully provides us with invaluable tips and reminders about resources that are available to the graduate student population to help with their research and other academic needs.

In appreciation for all of her hard work this past year, here is a look back at what she assembled for our use:

On July 21st, members of each graduate program, eager for a day out of the lab, piled onto buses and traveled to the mysterious Medford campus for hours of friendly competition and socializing for the 22nd Annual Sackler Relays.

Wisely, the competitive running events were up first so as to beat the midsummer heat. Runners braved the July sun to compete in a 100 m dash, a 4 x 200 m relay, and a 1 mile race. The women’s 100 m dash was a photo finish with Neuroscience’s Rachel Jarvis pulling out a narrow victory over CMDB’s Joslyn Mills. Immunogenetics took the women’s mile with an impressive 5:25 mile time by Maiwenn Le Corre! Participants and guests enjoyed food and drink as a break before the rest of the contests began.

Cooperative weather this year allowed for the return of the full event list, including the volleyball bracket and the obstacle course, with Neuroscience claiming a decisive volleyball victory. Unfortunately, dodgeball was cancelled partway through the games due to exuberant and strong throws prematurely deflating the dodgeballs. The day ended in a show of great teamwork, when CMDB stole victory from the MD/PhDs in the final matchup of the tug-of-war tournament.

The final placements saw Neuroscience on top yet again this year with the full standings below:

Following the sporting events, Rebecca Silver, our new Graduate Student Council president, announced the raffle winners of various prizes, which included day passes for the Rock Spot climbing gym, Paint Bar coupons, and Tufts swag, among other rewards. Our new Dean, Dr. Dan Jay (or, D(e)an Jay, as he quipped), introduced himself to the group and gave a rousing speech regarding some of his aspirations and goals in his new position, including new initiatives towards career development and preparing Sackler students for life beyond graduation. We enthusiastically wish Dean Jay the best of luck and look forward to his leadership!

Generous support from the Provost’s Office and the President’s Office were instrumental in making this year’s Relays a success, along with help from the Dean’s Office. The Graduate Student Council, with assistance from Sackler Faculty, held a successful relay day that will only raise the bar for next year! Thank you to Microbiology’s Claudette Gardel for team and event photos, and thank you and congratulations to all who participated!